The Pearl Company

Jay Linden With Special Guest Colin Linden, Jan 30: Part of The Southern Ontario “Under the Radar” Mini Tour.  Saturday, January 30 8:00pm. $20.  Call for tickets 905 524-0606

Jay Linden has been around, off and on, for a very long time. Jay is a legend (1 inch = 1/2 mile) of 40 years standing and some other years of sitting around. He’s unabashedly acoustic, unabashedly folk rooted. His musical trail comes up from Woody, Pete, Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, through Dylan, Johnny Cash and the 50s folk scare and through contemporaries like Townes, Willie P, Dolly Parton, Dave Carter and more. He writes and sings memorable folk songs and plays a lot of fretted and stringy things.

Concert: Jacob Moon: Jan 29  at 8:00. ($15 advance, $20 at the door) Moon has been very busy recording and touring all over Canada and into the United States. His passionate vocals and inspired lyrics are given flight by his total command of the guitar, which at times sounds like an entire orchestra, owing to his use of the ‘JamMan’, a live looping device that allows him to more fully realize his onstage ambitions as a solo artist.  A musical high wire act without a net!
CD Release of “Maybe Sunshine” — A new studio mini-album with a new sound. Inspired by Moon’s travels, and shot through with optimism, these songs shine.. Balancing between songs of hope, joy, and wonder and those that reflect the dark realities of  our world today, “Maybe Sunshine” offers an artful response to the matters of the heart and soul that we all wrestle with.
“Every once in a while a voice just leaps out at you…and that’s what happened when we heard Jacob Moon” – Shelagh Rogers, CBC

Opening January 22: The Streets of Hamilton: 7:00 pm start time. Featuring Sylvia Simpson, Gord Leverton, Rod Paget, Rob Laffier, John Stirling and Eric Ranveau…. Hamilton as you have never seen it before! The gritty made beautiful.  The beautiful made riveting (and sometimes gritty…).  Our Hamilton.

Banned From Heaven: Starting at 9:00: In conjunction with “The Streets of Hamilton”.  Playing together since the Sixties (in various incarnations), their style of music is somewhere between Blues, Punk Zydeco, or Jug Rock. It’s lots of fun and a wild ride. $5 donation at the door

The Hamilton Philharmonic: What Next? Festival has some events at The Pearl:
Saturday, January 23, 10:00 pm: Late Night Electroacoustic: A show unlike any you’ve seen, with music by Steve Reich, the premiere of a new work by Sergio Barroso, and grooves by American laptop virtuoso/DJ/composer Jeremy Flower.
Sunday, January 24, 1:00 pm: Music and the Mind: Panel Discussion: As science probes deeper into the secrets of the human mind, it has become clear that music plays a central role in our intellectual and emotional development. Groundbreaking studies at McMaster University have provided surprising insights into how we respond to harmony, melody, and dissonance.
Sunday January 24 3:00pm. Canada in the World: Chamber Concert. Music by Ravi Shankar, Elma Miller, Paula Matthusen, Scott Good, and a horn trio by Gary Kulesha commissioned for James Sommerville.
See www.whatnextfestival.com for ticket information and more events.

Carmen…?: Playing January 8 and 9, 15 and 16, 2010 at 8:00. Tickets $15. A tragic-comedy dance theatre presentation based on Bizet’s Carmen.  Sergiy Shvydkyy, an internationally renowned avant-garde dancer, mime-actor, choreographer, and leading figure in contemporary performance arts in the Ukraine brings his unique choreographic vision, to The Pearl Company. He does this with a fresh imagining of the famous story of love and betrayal, Carmen, unique in both its dance style and its interpretation of the tale. Emanuela Dussin, a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, brings the fire and beauty of flamenco to the stage. And then, of course, Gary Santucci has found himself willingly drawn into Shvydkyy‘s world where the musician not only performs the music but is a character within the production.  Not the same old Carmen! Time has changed her, you will love her more than ever? Reserve your seat! Call 905-524-0606. Read the rest of this entry »

Introducing the Lincoln Alexander Centre Art Bus! As of January, the new Lincoln Alexander Centre, a 350-seat theatre at The Hamilton Plaza Hotel will lend its name and some serious support to the bus not to mention cross-pollination between our two theatres. I am delighted to have the help and if the bus has to be something other than Barbara’s Bus, what better name to share than Lincoln Alexander’s!
January 1: No bus on the first Friday of this month.
January 8: The plan is to take in the action on Ottawa Street (Earls Court Gallery, Under the Moon), the James North Art Crawl (many, many galleries and events!) and the Tiger Group Studio Gallery (five artists in one large studio/gallery)  Read the rest of this entry »

New Years House Party at The Pearl: Zarabanda will not be playing this year – two members are unable to make it. But we are putting together a mix of recorded and live music, and Gary’s marvelous blend of Mediterranean and Canadian cuisine. We are making this a house party in our larger-than-life only-in-Hamilton loft. Places must be limited; reserve now! Starting at 8:00. $35.

The Tom Shea Trio: Saturday, December 19, doors open 8:00, show at 8:30. $10 at the door. A smooth, sharp, complex, and heady blend of musical styles and influences; scotch whiskey for the ears. Their soulful, fragile, exploratory sound mixes jazz, blues, and singer-songwriter traditions to create musical tapestries where every note tells a story. Beautiful original songs nestle beside innovative treatments of jazz and pop standards; Marcy Hull’s warm, wise, and supple voice is supported and surrounded by Jennifer Lockman’s piano and Tom Shea’s acoustic and electric guitars.

The Good Lovelies: Friday, December 18, doors open 8:00, show at 8:30. $15 at the door. We are delighted to present this group again as they debut their Christmas CD! Sharp, sassy, funny and building a following across Canada, the Good Lovelies are not your run-of-the-mill “all girl” band. Read the rest of this entry »

In The Pearl Company Gallery from Dec 13 to Jan 10:
The ArtCracker Gallery: A multimedia presentation of world-renowned Prima Ballerina Alicia Alonso’s accomplishments which includes a collection of original art, photographs, and video projections. The show will be at Hamilton Place through the staging of the Nutcracker Ballet from December 11 to 13. It will arrive at The Pearl Company from December 13 through January 10.
In the meantime, our store will be set up and we’re showing part of The Pearl’s “stable” of artists….Gallery hours: 1 to 4, Wednesday through Sunday; 6 to 8 Thursday and Friday evenings. (Also by chance or appointment.)

Killin’ Time Band: Saturday, December 12. Concert at 9:00. $10 at the door The Killin’ Time Band, produces a wildly entertaining sound blending pop rock, blues, country, funk and Reggae to create a full roots rock experience. Their catchy, danceable, heady mix of fun tunes is what music should be all about – a celebration of life. The Killin’ Time Band is proving they are a force to be reckoned with in the Canadian music scene. www.killintimeband.com

Jazz Connection Big Band: Friday, December 11. Doors at 8:30, jazz at 9:00 $15 at the door: Made up of talented musicians from all over southwestern Ontario, The Jazz Connection Big Band is a 20-piece band dedicated to playing great, straight-ahead jazz. http://www.jazzconnection.ca The JCBB are gaining a bigger audience every time they play here and have put together a spectacular new program! They will carry us once again into the cool space of surround sound big band music.

Andrea Garofalo: Thursday, December 10, Christmas with “Pop to Opera”, at The Pearl Company, 8:00 pm, $15 at the door. Call 905-524-0606 for tickets. Andrea Garofalo created Pop to Opera© to bring together the whole family beneath one roof with something exceptional for everyone to enjoy.  Read the rest of this entry »

Monday Dec 7: ArtCracker Bus! Starting at 4:00 pm The ArtCracker Bus leaves The Pearl Company on Monday, December 7 at 4:00pm (in association with The Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble and the ‘ArtCracker’ portion of the Nutcracker Ballet experience). The first stop will take in the Hamilton Club’s impressive art collection of remarkable pieces in an elegant setting. The next stop will be the Piano Nobile Lounge at Hamilton Place where we will get the first glimpse of the ArtCracker Gallery, “The Life of a Legend” a celebration of the life of “one of the greatest ballerinas the world has ever known”, Alicia Alonso. We are expecting her to be present. We will also be able to watch Nutcracker rehearsals in progress. The grand finale will take us backstage at the Tivoli to see for ourselves the transformation that is happening there – especially just for us! The cost for this unique evening will be $20 instead of the usual $15. Special price $20, fundraiser for Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble. To reserve call or email, Barbara Milne (905 524-0606), barbaramilne@cogeco.ca

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Hamilton Music Awards Weekend: Here’s the line-up at The Pearl Company:
Friday: 8:00 – Annie Marleau
9:00 Mark McNeil
10:00 Kim and Frank Koren
11:00 Ben Somer.
Saturday: 8:00 Shi-Anne
9:00 Neeraj Prem
10:00 Bob Bryden
11:00 Christopher Clause.
Go to www.hamiltonmusicawards.com for more information.